30h Week of Ordinary Time

Year II
Sunday
FIRST READING
From the book of Wisdom Ws 1:1-15
Praise of the wisdom of God.
Love righteousness, you rulers of the earth,
think of the Lord with uprightness,
and seek him with sincerity of heart;
because he is found by those who do not put him to the test,
and manifests himself to those who do not distrust him.
For perverse thoughts separate men from God,
and when his power is tested, it convicts the foolish;
because wisdom will not enter a deceitful soul,
nor dwell in a body enslaved to sin.
For a holy and disciplined spirit will flee from deceit,
and will rise and depart from foolish thoughts,
and will be ashamed at the approach of unrighteousness.
For wisdom is a kindly spirit
and will not free a blasphemer from the guilt of his words;
because God is witness of his inmost feelings,
and a true observer of his heart, and a hearer of his tongue.
Because the Spirit of the Lord has filled the world,
and that which holds all things together knows what is said;
therefore no one who utters unrighteous things will escape notice,
and justice, when it punishes, will not pass him by.
For inquiry will be made into the counsels of an ungodly man,
and a report of his words will come to the Lord,
to convict him of his lawless deeds;
because a jealous ear hears all things,
and the sound of murmurings does not go unheard.
Beware then of useless murmuring,
and keep your tongue from slander;
because no secret word is without result,
and a lying mouth destroys the soul.
Do not invite death by the error of your life,
nor bring on destruction by the works of your hands;
because God did not make death, and
he does not delight in the death of the living.
For he created all things that they might exist,
and the creatures of the world are wholesome,
and there is no destructive poison in them;
and the dominion of Hades is not on earth.
For righteousness is immortal.

RESPONSORY Pr 3:13-14; Jm 3:17

Happy the man who finds wisdom and gets understanding;
— for the gain from it is better than gain from silver, and its profit better than gold.
But the wisdom from above is first pure; then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits.
— For the gain from it is better than gain from silver, and its profit better than gold.

SECOND READING
From an exposition of psalm 118 by Saint Ambrose, bishop
(Disc. 9,36-40)
Christ penetrate the soul and illuminates
with the splendente reflection of the eternal light
 You are near, Lord, and all your commandments are true (Ps 118:151). The Lord is near to all of us, because he is
everywhere. We cannot escape him if we offend him, nor deceive him if we sin, nor lose him if we worship him. God
watches everything, he sees everything. He is close to each one of us; as he says: I am a God who is close at hand (cf
Jr 23:23). How can God fail to be everywhere, when you read of the Spirit of God that the Spirit of the Lord has filled
the whole world? (Ws 1:7) For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is the Lord God. I fill heaven and earth (Jr
23:24), says the Lord. Where then can he fail to be who fills everything? Or how can we all share in his fullness
unless he is near all of us?
So, knowing that God is everywhere, and fills the sky, the earth, and the sea, David says: Where can I escape from
your Spirit, where flee from your face? If I go up to heaven you are there; if I go down to Sheol you are there; if I take
flight before dawn to dwell at the sea’s furthest end, even there your hand will lead me and your right hand hold me
fast (Ps 138:7ff). In what few words he has shown that God is everywhere, and that wherever the Spirit of God is,
there is God, and where God is there is his Spirit! The union of the indivisible Trinity is portrayed here, since it is the
Son of God who pronounced these words through the mouth of the prophet. He spoke in his human nature, for he
descended to earth in the incarnation, ascended to heaven in the resurrection, and through his bodily death went down
to the underworld to free the prisoners. Or if you prefer to ascribe these words to the prophet, you notice it is clearly
shown that wherever God the Father and God’s Holy Spirit are, Christ is near as the hand, and the right hand of God.
Since we know that the sun shines everywhere, can we doubt that the splendor of God’s glory and the image of his
being shines everywhere? What could the Word of God, the eternal splendor, not penetrate, when he illuminates even
the hidden mind, which the sun itself cannot penetrate?
He penetrates the soul, then, and illuminates it as with the brightness of eternal light. But although his virtue is
poured out among all and into all and over all, since he was born of the Virgin for the sake of all, both good and bad,
just as he commands his sun to rise over good and bad, nevertheless he warms only those who come near to him. For
just as people shut out the sun’s brightness when they close the windows of their houses and choose to live in
darkness, so those who turn their backs on the Sun of Righteousness cannot see its splendor. They walk in darkness,
and it is plain to everyone that they themselves are the cause of their blindness. Open your windows, then, so that
your whole house shines with the brightness of the true Sun; open your eyes so that you can see the Sun of Right-
eousness rising for you.
RESPONSORY John 12:35; Jeremiah 13:16
You are going to have the light just a little while longer.
— Walk while you still have the light, before darkness overtakes you.
Give glory to the Lord your God, before the darkness comes.
— Walk while you still have the light, before darkness overtakes you.

Monday
FIRST READING
From the book of Wisdom Ws 1:16—2:1.10-24
The foolish reasoning of the impious against the just.
But ungodly men by their words and deeds summoned death;
considering him a friend, they pined away,
and they made a covenant with him,
because they are fit to belong to his party.
For they reasoned unsoundly, saying to themselves,
“Short and sorrowful is our life,
and there is no remedy when a man comes to his end,
and no one has been known to return from Hades.
Let us oppress the righteous poor man;
let us not spare the widow
nor regard the gray hairs of the aged.
But let our might be our law of right,
for what is weak proves itself to be useless.
“Let us lie in wait for the righteous man,
because he is inconvenient to us and opposes our actions;
he reproaches us for sins against the law,
and accuses us of sins against our training.
 He professes to have knowledge of God,
and calls himself a child of the Lord.
He became to us a reproof of our thoughts;
the very sight of him is a burden to us,
because his manner of life is unlike that of others,
and his ways are strange.
We are considered by him as something base,
and he avoids our ways as unclean;
he calls the last end of the righteous happy,
and boasts that God is his father.
Let us see if his words are true,
and let us test what will happen at the end of
his life;
for if the righteous man is God’s son, he will help him,
and will deliver him from the hand of his adversaries.
Let us test him with insult and torture,
that we may find out how gentle he is,
and make trial of his forbearance.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death,
for, according to what he says, he will be protected.”
Thus they reasoned, but they were led astray,
for their wickedness blinded them,
and they did not know the secret purposes of God,
nor hope for the wages of holiness,
nor discern the prize for blameless souls;
for God created man for incorruption,
and made him in the image of his own eternity,
but through the devil's envy death entered the world,
and those who belong to his party experience it.

RESPONSORY Ws 2:12-13,17-18; Mt 27:43

The wicked said: Let us lie in wait for the righteous man, for he opposes our actions and calls himself a child of the
Lord.
— Let us see if his words are true, for if the righteous man is God’s son, he will deliver him from the hands of his
adversaries.
He trusts in God; let God deliver him now if he desires him; for he said, “I am the Son of God.”
— Let us see if his words are true, for if the righteous man is God’s son, he will deliver him from the hands of his
adversaries.

SECOND READING
From an exposition on psalm 118 by Saint Ambrose, bishop
(Disc. 10,10-11)
O man, you are a stupendous work , animated by the creative power of God!
Man, know yourself. Know yourself, o soul, because you are not made of earth and mud. God has blown you into
man and has made of you a living soul. You are a stupendous work, animated by the creative power of God. But keep
vigil over yourself (1 Tm 4:16) as the Scripture says; it says it for you, for your soul. Do not let yourself be tricked by
the flattery of the world, do not permit the earthly realities to detain you. Hurry along with the commitment of your
entire self towards him from whose breath you have been created
Great is man and precious is a compassionate man: but who can find a trusted person? (Pr 20:6). Learn in what
thing you are great, in what thing you are precious. The earth reveals your baseness, but the virtue makes you
glorious, the faith rare, the image precious: is there perhaps something more precious than the image of God?
Behold that which before every other thing must infuse in you the faith, so that in your heart may shine a certain
image of the Creator and that it may not happen that you do not recognize him, when he questions your soul.
And what is there that is more precious than humility, thanks to which, considering the nature of the body and of
the soul, you submit yourself to another and which makes you conscious of being governed by him? O man, you are
a great work of God and great is that which God has given you! Be careful and do not lose the great gift of being
made in the image of God, in order not to merit being more seriously punished. In reality God does not punish his
likeness, but he who was made in the likeness of God did not know how to preserve that which he had received.
Therefore that which had ceased to be in the likeness of God was punished, that is your sin. In fact God did not
condemn his image and he did not send it to the eternal fire. But rather he avenged his image in him who had brought
insult on that image; so because of the malice, you cease to be that which you were and from man you become a
mule.
Therefore he did not condemn the image, but he avenged it like one who is repudiated, he did not condemn it as
wicked. In fact, from the moment you have sinned, you have become another and you have ceased to be the one
whom you were. How can that which cannot be found anymore in you be punished? If the image and likeness of God
was to be found in you, you would begin to be worthy of a reward and not of a punishment. Therefore that image
according to which you are made in the image and likeness of God, is not condemned but rewarded. You instead are
condemned, because, from the man that you were, you have become a serpent, a mule, a horse. In effect the Scripture
has already condemned us with these names, because, undressed of the ornament of the divine image, we have also
lost the name of man, not having known how to conserve the grace that belongs to man.
RESPONSORY Psalm 99:3; Ephesians 2:10
Acknowledge that the Lord is God.
— He has made us and we belong to him.
We are in fact God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works that God has prepared in advance for us
to do.
— He has made us and we belong to him.

Tuesday
FIRST READING
From the book of Wisdom Ws 3:1-19
The possession of the kingdom by the just.
But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God,
and no torment will ever touch them.
In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died,
and their departure was thought to be an affliction,
and their going from us to be their destruction;
but they are at peace.
For though in the sight of men they were punished,
their hope is full of immortality.
Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good,
because God tested them and found them worthy of himself;
like gold in the furnace he tried them,
and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them.
In the time of their visitation they will shine forth,
and will run like sparks through the stubble.
They will govern nations and rule over peoples,
and the Lord will reign over them for ever.
Those who trust in him will understand truth,
and the faithful will abide with him in love,
because grace and mercy are upon his elect,
and he watches over his holy ones.
But the ungodly will be punished as their reasoning deserves,
who disregarded the righteous man and rebelled against the Lord;
for whoever despises wisdom and instruction is miserable.
Their hope is vain, their labors are unprofitable,
and their works are useless.
Their wives are foolish, and their children evil;
their offspring are accursed.
For blessed is the barren woman who is undefiled,
who has not entered into a sinful union;
 she will have fruit when God examines souls.
Blessed also is the eunuch whose hands have done no lawless deed,
and who has not devised wicked things against the Lord;
for special favor will be shown him for his faithfulness,
and a place of great delight in the temple of the Lord.
For the fruit of good labors is renowned,
and the root of understanding does not fail.
But children of adulterers will not come to maturity,
and the offspring of an unlawful union will perish.
Even if they live long they will be held of no account,
and finally their old age will be without honor.
If they die young, they will have no hope
and no consolation in the day of decision.
For the end of an unrighteous generation is grievous.

RESPONSORY Ws 3:6-7,9
Like gold in the furnace he tried the souls of the righteous, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them. In
the time of their visitation they will shine forth.
— For grace and mercy are upon his elect.
Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love,
— for grace and mercy are upon his elect.

SECOND READING
From a catechesis by Saint Theodore the Studite, abbot
(Cat. 34)
We will enter into a land where the source of life and immortality is.
Dearest brothers and fathers, behold we pass from one year to another, from one season to the other, of feast in
feast, and we do not find any stability in this life; we must leave this our life itself, in order to enter into the eternal
rest. We read in the Scriptures: for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from
his (Hb 2:10). And which is this rest? Certainly the kingdom of heaven, towards which the Apostle stimulates us
saying: Let us hurry therefore to enter into that rest, so that no one may fall into that same type of disobedience (Hb
4:11). What does the Apostle want to say with this? Behold: as God promised the entry into the promised land to the
Israelites, but those who did not believe and exasperated him could not enter, so also, the entry into the kingdom of
Heaven will not be opened to us, if we do not obey his precepts. For forty years I was disgusted with that generation
and I said: They are a people with a crooked heart, they do not know my ways; therefore I swore in my indignation:
They will not enter into the place of my rest (Ps 94:10-11). Here we are not dealing literally with forty years of
waiting in the desert, but it signifies the duration of life that is already pre-established for each one. Therefore, if we
do not hurry to carry out all the commandments of God, for us also he will say: They will not enter into the place of
my rest (Ps 94:11).
Besides it is written: Anyone who rejected the Law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three
witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God
underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the
Spirit of grace? (Hb 10:28-29)
But what were the faults that barred the Hebrews from entering into the Promised Land? The incredulity,
grumbling, calumny, contestation, the hardness of heart, pride, fornication: these vices were their ruin.
Therefore let us also, brothers, flee from these mortifying vices as from fire, without doubting the promises of God
but on the contrary believing firmly that all that he has promised he is also capable of bringing to fulfilment (cf Rm
4:1). Let us not grumble, let us not blame the others, let us not be opponents, let us not harden our hearts, let us not
become proud; rather let us try to be benevolent to one another, merciful, forgiving one another as God has forgiven
us in Christ (cf Ep 4:32). Carrying always in our body the death of the Lord Jesus, we are always ready to suffer death
for Christ; and we constantly renew our spirit with the oration, pleas, tears and the contemplation of the heavenly
things.
Without doubt, if we have spent our lives like this, we will not enter like the ancient Hebrews: into the land where
milk and honey flow (Ex 33:3), but into the region of the meek of heart where the fountain of life and immortality
flows, where the beauty of the heavenly Jerusalem shines, where joy and exultation reign, where the splendour of the
blessed and omnipotent Trinity glows, in the same Christ our Lord to whom be glory and the kingdom with the
Father and the Holy Spirit now and forever. Amen.

RESPONSORY See Acts 24:15; Job 14:14

I nourish in God the hope that there will be a resurrection of the righteous and of the wicked.
— For this I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and men.
All the days of my militia, I wait until the hour of change arrives for me.
— For this I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and men.

Wednesday
FIRST READING
From the book of Wisdom Ws 4:1-20
True and false happiness.
Better than this is childlessness with virtue,
for in the memory of virtue is immortality,
because it is known both by God and by men.
When it is present, men imitate it,
and they long for it when it has gone;
and throughout all time it marches crowned in triumph,
victor in the contest for prizes that are undefiled.
But the prolific brood of the ungodly will be of no use,
and none of their illegitimate seedlings will strike a deep root
or take a firm hold.
For even if they put forth boughs for a while,
standing insecurely they will be shaken by the wind,
and by the violence of the winds they will be uprooted.
The branches will be broken off before they come to maturity,
and their fruit will be useless, not ripe enough to eat,
and good for nothing.
For children born of unlawful unions
are witnesses of evil against their parents when God examines them.
But the righteous man, though he die early, will
be at rest.
For old age is not honored for length of time,
nor measured by number of years;
but understanding is gray hair for men,
and a blameless life is ripe old age.
There was one who pleased God and was loved by him,
and while living among sinners he was taken up.
He was caught up lest evil change his understanding
or guile deceive his soul.
For the fascination of wickedness obscures what is good,
and roving desire perverts the innocent mind.
Being perfected in a short time, he fulfilled long years;
for his soul was pleasing to the Lord,
therefore he took him quickly from the midst of wickedness.
Yet the peoples saw and did not understand,
nor take such a thing to heart,
that God’s grace and mercy are with his elect,
and he watches over his holy ones.
The righteous man who has died will condemn the
ungodly who are living,
and youth that is quickly perfected will condemn the
prolonged old age of the unrighteous man.
For they will see the end of the wise man,
 and will not understand what the Lord purposed for him,
and for what he kept him safe.
They will see, and will have contempt for him,
but the Lord will laugh them to scorn.
After this they will become dishonored corpses,
and an outrage among the dead for ever;
because he will dash them speechless to the ground,
and shake them from the foundations;
they will be left utterly dry and barren,
and they will suffer anguish,
and the memory of them will perish.
They will come with dread when their sins are reckoned up,
and their lawless deeds will convict them to their face.

RESPONSORY Ws 3:16, 4:1; Jm 1:27

Better than children of unlawful union is childlessness with virtue;
— for virtue is known by both God and men.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this: to keep oneself unstained from the world.
— For virtue is known by both God and men.

SECOND READING
From a work by Saint Peter Damian, bishop
(Opus. 11,5.6.10)
The communion of saints in the unity of faith.
The Church of Christ is held united interiorly by a bond of mutual charity so strong that it is mystically one in
many and all in each one; to the point that it presents with reason the whole universal Church as the unique bride of
Christ and it believes that, in virtue of the sacramental mystery, each soul is the whole Church. From all this it is
deduced clearly why, given that the whole Church is designated as only one person and as a consequence it is said
that it is only one virgin, the holy Church is one in all and all in each one: one in the many for the unity of the faith
and multiple in the individual by the bond of charity and the different charisms, since all come from only one.
Therefore the holy Church, even if it is different because of the multiplicity of the persons, is fused in unity by the
fire of the Holy Spirit: and therefore, even if in its visible body it seems to be divided in different places, this does not
take away anything from the mystery of its intimate unity. In fact the love of God has been poured out in our hearts
through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us (Rm 5:5). It is therefore this Spirit, one and multiple, one in the
majesty of the essence and multiple in the different gifts, which permits the holy Church, filled by him, to be one in
the totality and whole in its parts.
If therefore those who believe in Christ are only one thing, wherever a member is visibly present, there also the
whole body is mystically present. Where there is truly the unity of the faith, that unity does not admit the solitude in
one, nor does it tolerate in the many the schism of diversity. In reality what harm is there in the fact that from only one
mouth comes out different voices, if only one faith alternates them, even though it is through the means of many
languages? The whole Church, in fact, is without doubt only one body. If, therefore, the whole Church is the unique
body of Christ and we are the members of the Church, what impedes each one of making use of the words of our
body, that is of the Church? It is evident that, if we are only one thing in Christ, each one of us possesses in him all of
himself; to the point that, for as much as we may seem to be far away from the Church because of the solitude of the
bodies, we are nevertheless very much present in it through the inviolable mystery of the unity. Thus, that which is of
all is also of the individuals: and that which for some is specifically personal, is also common to all in the integrity of
the faith and of the charity; in a manner that the people can implore rightfully in these terms: Have mercy on me, have
mercy on me, O God (Ps 56:1).
Our holy fathers define the existence of this indissoluble union and communion of the faithful in Christ with such
certainty, as to insert it into the symbol of the catholic profession and to order us to repeat it habitually among the
same fundamental principles of the Christian faith. In fact, as soon as we say: I believe in the Holy Spirit and in the
holy Catholic Church, we immediately add: in the communion of the saints. And where we give witness of our faith
to God, there as a consequence we also edify the communion of the Church, which is only one thing with him. This
in fact is the communion of the saints in the unity of the faith: those who believe in the unique God, are reborn with
only one baptism, they have been confirmed with only one Holy Spirit and they are welcomed into the unique eternal
life in virtue of the grace of adoption.
RESPONSORY Romans 12:4-6
As in only one body we have many members and these members do not all have the same function, so also in us.
— Though being many, we are only one body in Christ and, each member belongs to all the others.
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each one of us.
— Though being many, we are only one body in Christ and, each member belongs to all the others.

Thursday
FIRST READING
From the book of Wisdom Ws 5:1-23
Wicked men are damned by God.
Then the righteous man will stand with
great confidence
in the presence of those who have afflicted him,
and those who make light of his labors.
When they see him, they will be shaken with dreadful fear,
and they will be amazed at his unexpected salvation.
They will speak to one another in repentance,
and in anguish of spirit they will groan, and say,
“This is the man whom we once held in derision
and made a byword of reproach—we fools!
We thought that his life was madness
and that his end was without honor.
Why has he been numbered among the sons of God?
And why is his lot among the saints?
So it was we who strayed from the way of truth,
and the light of righteousness did not shine on us,
and the sun did not rise upon us.
We took our fill of the paths of lawlessness and destruction,
and we journeyed through trackless deserts,
but the way of the Lord we have not known.
What has our arrogance profited us?
And what good has our boasted wealth brought us?
“All those things have vanished like a shadow,
and like a rumor that passes by;
like a ship that sails through the billowy water,
and when it has passed no trace can be found,
nor track of its keel in the waves;
or as, when a bird flies through the air,
no evidence of its passage is found;
the light air, lashed by the beat of its pinions
and pierced by the force of its rushing flight,
is traversed by the movement of its wings,
and afterward no sign of its coming is found there;
or as, when an arrow is shot at a target,
the air, thus divided, comes together at once,
so that no one knows its pathway.
So we also, as soon as we were born, ceased to be,
and we had no sign of virtue to show,
but were consumed in our wickedness.”
Because the hope of the ungodly man is like chaff
carried by the wind,
and like a light hoarfrost driven away by a storm;
 it is dispersed like smoke before the wind,
and it passes like the remembrance of a guest who stays but a day.
But the righteous live for ever,
and their reward is with the Lord;
the Most High takes care of them.
Therefore they will receive a glorious crown
and a beautiful diadem from the hand of the Lord,
because with his right hand he will cover them,
and with his arm he will shield them.
The Lord will take his zeal as his whole armor,
and will arm all creation to repel his enemies;
he will put on righteousness as a breastplate,
and wear impartial justice as a helmet;
he will take holiness as an invincible shield,
and sharpen stern wrath for a sword,
and creation will join with him to fight against the madmen.
Shafts of lightning will fly with true aim,
and will leap to the target as from a well-drawn bow of clouds,
and hailstones full of wrath will be hurled as from a catapult;
the water of the sea will rage against them,
and rivers will relentlessly overwhelm them;
a mighty wind will rise against them,
and like a tempest it will winnow them away.
Lawlessness will lay waste the whole earth,
and evil-doing will overturn the thrones of rulers.

RESPONSORY 1 Jn 3:7-8,10
Little children, let no one deceive you. He who does right is righteous.
— He who commits sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning.
By this it may be seen who are children of God, and who are children of the devil.
— He who commits sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning.

SECOND READING
From The Life in Christ by Nicholas Cabasilas
(Lib. 6)
Christ in person is our model.
He who is overcome by the love of Christ and of the virtues, because of this love bears also the persecutions: if it is
necessary he does not refuse to flee and to welcome with joy the worst insults, because for him the rewards hidden in
the heavens are very beautiful and very great.
So much greater is the love of the combatants for the judge of the competition who has to reward them, that they
trust in him with regard to the rewards that they still do not see and believe as certain right from the present that which
they hope for in the future.
Thus the continuous reflection and meditation on Christ makes them who practice it modest, conscious of the
human weakness and capable of mourning it, meek, just, friends of men, chaste, artificers of peace and of
reconciliation; taken, finally by so much love for Christ and for the virtue, that not only do they bear to be insulted for
this, but they are even glad and exult in persecutions.
In brief, from these thoughts we can draw very great goods in which the beatitudes are enclosed.
Thus, in him who is the highest Good, we can preserve our soul in its primitive beauty and to make it better, defend
the riches drawn from the mysteries, not tear or stain the royal vestments.
Therefore, as it is characteristic of the human nature to have the intellect and to make use of the reason, so also it
must be believed that the function of the though is that of considering the mysteries of Christ, all the more since Jesus
only is the model to which men must look, be it for their personal actions as well as for the guidance of the others.
Jesus, beginning, center and end, has shown the true justice to men, both for their private conduct as well as for the
public one. Jesus is the reward and the crown that the combatants have to receive: it is necessary therefore to look at
him, to consider attentively his life and, as much as it is possible, to try to learn in depth how we must suffer.
 The rewards of the athletes are in proportion to the struggles; they look to it bearing the exertions, with much
greater constancy the more they know its beauty. But above all this, who does not know that Jesus only has acquired
us with his blood?
Therefore there is no one else whom we must serve, for him alone we must employ ourselves, body and soul, love,
memory and energy of the intelligence, as also St. Paul says: We do not belong to ourselves, in fact you have been
bought at a dear price (1 Co 6:19-20).
In view of the new man God has created in the beginning the nature of man: mind and desire have been molded for
this purpose. We have received the thought in order to know Christ, the desire in order to run towards him, the
memory in order to carry him in us, because while we were molded, he was the model.
RESPONSORY Ephesians 1:3-4; 2:10
God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, in Christ. In him he has chosen us before the creation
of the world,
— in order to be holy and immaculate before him in love.
We are in fact his work, created in Christ Jesus for the good works, which God has predisposed,
— in order to be holy and immaculate before him in love.

Friday
FIRST READING
From the book of Wisdom Ws 6:1-25
The need to love wisdom.
Listen therefore, O kings, and understand;
learn, O judges of the ends of the earth.
Give ear, you that rule over multitudes,
and boast of many nations.
For your dominion was given you from the Lord,
and your sovereignty from the Most High,
who will search out your works and inquire into your plans.
Because as servants of his kingdom you did not rule rightly,
nor keep the law,
nor walk according to the purpose of God,
he will come upon you terribly and swiftly,
because severe judgment falls on those in high places.
For the lowliest man may be pardoned in
mercy, but mighty men will be mightily tested,
For the Lord of all will not stand in awe of any one,
nor show deference to greatness;
because he himself made both small and great,
and he takes thought for all alike.
But a strict inquiry is in store for the mighty.
To you then, O monarchs, my words are directed,
that you may learn wisdom and not transgress.
For they will be made holy who observe holy things in holiness,
and those who have been taught them will find a defense.
therefore set your desire on my words;
long for them, and you will be instructed.
Wisdom is radiant and unfading,
and she is easily discerned by those who love her,
and is found by those who seek her.
She hastens to make herself known to those who desire her.
He who rises early to seek her will have no difficulty,
for he will find her sitting at his gates.
To fix one’s thought on her is perfect understanding,
and he who is vigilant on her account will soon be free from care,
 because she goes about seeking those worthy of her,
and she graciously appears to them in their paths,
and meets them in every thought.
The beginning of wisdom is the most sincere desire for instruction,
and concern for instruction is love of her,
and love of her is the keeping of her laws,
and giving heed to her laws is assurance of immortality,
and immortality brings one near to God;
so the desire for wisdom leads to a kingdom.
Therefore if you delight in thrones and
scepters, O monarchs over the peoples,
honor wisdom, that you may reign for ever.
I will tell you what wisdom is and how she came to be,
and I will hide no secrets from you,
but I will trace her course from the beginning of creation,
and make knowledge of her clear,
and I will not pass by the truth;
neither will I travel in the company of sickly envy,
for envy does not associate with wisdom.
A multitude of wise men is the salvation of the world,
and a sensible king is the stability of his people.
Therefore be instructed by my words,
and you will profit.

RESPONSORY Ws 7:13-14,28, 3:11

I learned wisdom without guile and ungrudgingly I impart it;
— for wisdom is an unfailing treasure for men.
Whoever despises wisdom and instruction is miserable; for God loves nothing so much as the man who lives with
wisdom.
— For wisdom is an unfailing treasure for men.

SECOND READING
From a letter by Blessed Guigo, carthusian
(Vita Contemplativa, Cc 3,6-7)
I searched for your face, Lord.
The reading searches for the sweetness of the blessed life, the meditation discovers it, the oration claims it, the
contemplation tastes it.
The reading is like a solid food that is drawn near to the mouth, the meditation chews it and breaks it, the oration
picks up the taste and the contemplation is that same sweetness that gladdens and restores. The reading is the skin, the
meditation is the flesh, the oration consists in the research of the desire, the contemplation in the pleasure of the
sweetness conquered.
The soul therefore, seeing that alone it cannot reach the sweetness, that it desires so much, of knowing God and of
having an experience of him, and seeing that the more His heart is an abyss (Ps 63:7) the more God is exalted,
humbles himself, takes refuge in the prayer saying: Lord, I search for you who are seen only by the pure of heart,
reading and meditating, for that which is the true purity of the heart and how I could have it, so that possessing it,
even if only in a small part, I can know you.
I searched for your face, Lord; your face, Lord I search (cf Ps 26:8); for a long time I have meditated in my heart,
and in my meditation a fire has grown, and the desire of knowing you has become greater. While you break for me
the bread of the Sacred Scriptures, in the act of breaking the bread I recognize you, and the more I know you the more
I desire to know you not anymore in the wrapping of the letter, but in the depths of the experience. I do not ask all
this; Lord, for my merits, but because of your mercy. I confess in fact that I am an unworthy sinner, but also the dogs
feed of the crumbs that fall from the table of their masters (Mt 15:27). Give me therefore, Lord, the pledge of the
future inheritance, at least a drop of that heavenly rain that will be a relief to my thirst, because I burn with love.
With these and similar ardent invocations he inflames his desire, thus he shows his affection, with such enchanted
words he calls his bridegroom. And the Lord, who guides the just and not only listens to their invocations, but is
attentive to them, does not wait for the plea to be finished: interrupting in the middle the prayer immediately he rushes
into the heart that desires him, all covered with the dew of the heavenly sweetness and with the most precious
perfume. He recreates the tired soul, he restores the hungry, he inebriates the dry and he makes it forget the things of
the earth; he vivifies it making it marvelously die in the forgetfulness of itself and intoxicating it he makes it wise.
RESPONSORY Ezra 8:22; Lamentations 3:25
The power of the Lord and his anger is on all those who have abandoned him.
— The hand of our God is on all those who search for him, for their good.
The Lord is good with those who hope in him, who search for him with the heart.
— The hand of our God is on all those who search for him, for their good.

FIRST READING
From the book of Wisdom Ws 7:15-30
Wisdom is the image of God.
May God grant that I speak with judgment
and have thoughts worthy of what I have received,
for he is the guide even of wisdom
and the corrector of the wise.
For both we and our words are in his hand,
as are all understanding and skill in crafts.
For it is he who gave me unerring knowledge of what exists,
to know the structure of the world and the activity of the elements;
the beginning and end and middle of times,
the alternations of the solstices and the changes of the seasons,
the cycles of the year and the constellations of the stars,
the natures of animals and the tempers of wild beasts,
the powers of spirits and the reasonings of men,
the varieties of plants and the virtues of roots;
I learned both what is secret and what is manifest,
for wisdom, the fashioner of all things, taught me.
For in her there is a spirit that is intelligent, holy,
unique, manifold, subtle,
mobile, clear, unpolluted,
distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen,
irresistible, 23 beneficent, humane,
steadfast, sure, free from anxiety,
all-powerful, overseeing all,
and penetrating through all spirits
that are intelligent and pure and most subtle.
For wisdom is more mobile than any motion;
because of her pureness she pervades and penetrates all things.
For she is a breath of the power of God,
and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty;
therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her.
For she is a reflection of eternal light,
a spotless mirror of the working of God,
and an image of his goodness.
Though she is but one, she can do all things,
and while remaining in herself, she renews all things;
in every generation she passes into holy souls
and makes them friends of God, and
prophets;
for God loves nothing so much as the man who lives with wisdom.
For she is more beautiful than the sun,
and excels every constellation of the stars.
Compared with the light she is found to be superior,
 for it is succeeded by the night,
but against wisdom evil does not prevail.

RESPONSORY Col 1:15-16; Ws 7:26

Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation;
— for in him all things were created.
He is a reflection of eternal light and image of God’s goodness.
— For in him all things were created.

SECOND READING
From a treatise Against the Arians by Saint Athanasius, bishop
(Disc. 2, 78.79) (Oratio 2, 78.81-82: PG 26, 311.319)
We know the Father through creative and incarnate Wisdom
The only-begotten Son, the Wisdom of God, created the entire universe. Scripture says: You have made all things
by your wisdom, and the earth is full of your creatures. Yet simply to be was not enough.: God also wanted his
creatures to be good. That is why he was pleased that his own wisdom should descend to their level and impress upon
each of them singly and upon all of them together a certain resemblance to their Model. It would then be manifest that
God’s creatures shared in his wisdom and that his works were worthy of him.
For as the Word we speak is an image of the Word who is God’s Son, so also is the wisdom implanted in us an
image of the Wisdom who is God’s Son. It gives us the ability to know and understand and so makes us capable of
receiving him who is the all-creative Wisdom, through whom we can come to know the Father. Whoever has the son
has the father also, Scripture says, and Whoever receives me receives the One who sent me. And so, since this image
of the Wisdom of God has been produced in us and in all creatures, the true and creative Wisdom rightly takes to
himself what applies to his image and says: The Lord created me in his works.
But because the world was not wise enough to recognize God in his wisdom, as we have explained it, God
determined to save those who believe by means of the “foolish” message that we preach. Not wishing to be known
any longer, as informer times, through the mere image and shadow of his wisdom existing in creatures, he caused the
true Wisdom himself to take flesh, to become man, and to suffer death on the cross so that all who believed in him
might be saved by faith.
Yet this was the same Wisdom of God who had in the beginning revealed himself and his Father through himself
by means of his image in creatures (which is why Wisdom too is said to be created). Later, as John declares, that
Wisdom, who is also the Word, became flesh, and after destroying the power of death and saving our race, he
revealed himself and his Father through himself with greater clarity. Grant, he prayed, that they may know you, the
only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.
So now the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of God, since it is one and the same thing to know the Father
through the Son, and to know the Son who comes from the Father. The Father rejoices in his Son, and with the smae
joy the Son delights in the Father and says: I was his joy; every day I took delight in his presence.
RESPONSORY Wisdom 7:22.23; 1 Corinthians 2:10
In Wisdom there is a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, multiple, subtle, clear, lover of good, free;
— omnipotent, over-seeing all, it penetrates all the spirits.
The Spirit scrutinizes everything, even the depths of God.
— Omnipotent, over-seeing all, it penetrates all the spirits.